The Newsroom: Road Trip
by Firehound427
Summary: Will McAvoy thinks he and his staff need a break from News Night. And he thinks he's got the solution: Don the leathers, fire up the Harleys and go on a cross-country road trip. Unfortunately, as it turns out, this road trip isn't quite going to be straight-forward. Hold on as the News Night crew discover what what can go wrong on a two wheel tour of the USA!
1. We Just Decided To

Alright. I've had this one in my head for a while. I recently saw a couple of episodes of The Newsroom, and I have to say it is a brilliant show! The actors are great, there's quite some comedy and they still manage to pull it together into a proper news show. I think it's about time they got a break, don't you think. I may delete this story if it doesn't get a good reception though, so remember this is still very much a work in progress, and I will be deciding the fate of this story based on your reviews.

* * *

HBO presents:

An Aaron Sorkin and Firehound427 production

In association with Harley-Davidson Inc.

**THE NEWSROOM: ROAD TRIP**

Directed by Firehound427

Starring:

Tom Fortnell

Will McAvoy

MacKenzie McHale

James "Jim" Harper

Margaret "Maggie" Jordan

Don Keefer

Neal Sampat

Sloan Sabbith

And Charlie Skinner

Original series by Aaron Sorkin

Motorcycles provided by Harley-Davidson

Written by Firehound427

* * *

Will McAvoy, news anchor for ACN, was in a dilemma. Nope, it wasn't what to put on News Night. There was no shortage of news, the world was alive with news. If it was any more alive, it would actually be talking to him as he sat in his office with some of the week's newspapers from across the US. No, news wasn't the problem. The problem was this: They'd been doing News Night 2.0 for two years now, and Will figured they needed a break. The researchers needed a break, the producers needed a break, and he needed a break.

"Hey there Will." His train of thought was derailed by Charlie Skinner, ACN news division president, walking into the office and taking a seat.

"Hey there Charlie." Will momentarily looked up, then returned to scanning the San Francisco Chronicle.

"Is there anything wrong?" Charlie studied the look on Will's face. "And don't even think about telling me it's Mac. Again."

"It's not." Will looked up and made eye contact with Charlie. "I think we need a break."

"We?"

"Me, Mac and the rest of them. We just need some time away from the newsroom to just enjoy life away from the media."

"Sounds like a good idea, BUT, I sense a but coming."

"But I don't know what to do..." Will returned to reading the SFC.

While reading through the paper, he stopped on a particular ad. The ad read:

WANTED:

Bikers for cross-America road trip.

May provide own motorcycles or purchase at dealer.

Will start in San Francisco and end in New York.

Should be comfortable riding a bike for 3,000 miles.

Contact T. Fortnell 1-800-555-3751.

Please apply by Saturday 14th.

P.S. Would prefer to stay out of trouble.

"I think I've just found something to do."

* * *

"A motorcycle road trip?" MacKenzie asked incredulously.

"What, is there anything wrong?" Will replied.

"I don't believe you are actually suggesting this. How do you suppose we get out on some biking trip for a week with no-one noticing?"

"No-one noticing that we're gone would be impossible to pull off. But I'll think of something."

"What about News Night?"

"I think we all need a break from News Night." Will turned to face the rest of the room. "Now, who wants to go on a biking tour of America?"

Don immediately stood up. "I'll go. I think this trip is what we need for me and you to stop butting heads with each other."

Neal straightened up and stood next to Don. "It's about time I got away from the stress of working here. I'm in."

"I love the feeling of riding a big ol' Harley. I'll go with you." Jim then pointed to Maggie. "And I think it'll be great for Mag's confidence issues."

"If you say so..." Maggie shakily stood up.

"What's this about a road trip?" Sloan stopped staring at her financial data. "I'd love to come along."

"Me too." Charlie walked in. "Ever since Leona talked about firing Will, I've been looking for a chance to show her we've got our own way of doing things. I'm pretty sure she would love it if we went away for a while." There were some glances around the room as people were sure he wasn't serious about that last statement.

Will turned back to MacKenzie. "So what you think now?"

She sighed. "Alright. I guess someone's got to keep you in line. Besides, what could possibly go wrong?"

* * *

In San Francisco, Tom was walking out of the precinct. He'd served with the police department for two years. For the past two years, he'd been offered a holiday, and for the past two years, he'd turn it down to serve the community longer. Now, he was planning to use the holiday time for something big.

He had the route mapped out. San Francisco to New York, with visits to Las Vegas and Chicago along the way. It was something out of Need For Speed: The Run, and he would've preferred to avoid the business of a $25 million debt with the mob.

He had the bike. He'd learned how to ride a motorcycle since coming to SF, and although he was still a little shaky, and better at driving than riding, he still loved riding his black Harley-Davidson Fatboy Lo, and was now feeling confident enough to tackle a 3,000 mile ride.

The only thing he didn't have was some riders to make the trip with. It was Friday 13th right now, and he was planning to start the trip tomorrow. If no-one showed, it was either going to be stay in San Fran, or hope he could handle it by himself.

All of a sudden, his phone vibrated. He fished the phone out of his pocket and held it to his ear.

"Tom Fortnell speaking." Tom spoke.

"It's Will McAvoy, from News Night." Will answered.

"Will. I honestly never thought you'd call me. Hell of a show you've got going over there."

"We're interested in your motorcycle trip."

"You _are?_"

"Yep. Me and the entire crew."

"I don't believe this."

"We should be arriving tomorrow. Where shall we meet up?"

"You're coming over on a plane, right?"

"That is correct."

"I figured you guys don't have motorbikes."

"Where are we meeting?"

"Try the Harley dealer in Fisherman's Wharf. We can get you some Harleys for the trip ahead. They're great bikes for this. We can also get you some leathers. The trip officially starts at Nob Hill, just one-and-a-quarter-miles away."

"It's settled then. How can we spot you?"

"I'm riding a black Fatboy Lo and I ride with a leather top and bottoms, a black flip-face helmet and sunglasses. I think I'd be at least a bit obvious. If all that fails, just ask the guys at the 7th Precinct. They'll tell you to just follow the trail of handcuffs."

The phone hung up, Will on the other end obviously laughing.

* * *

The next morning, Tom arrived at the dealer. There were bikes on display, posters on the walls and staff on hand to help. One such person approached Tom.

"Looking to buy a brand new Harley-Davidson sir?" He asked.

"No thanks." Tom replied, pointing to his Fatboy Lo motorcycle. "I'm waiting for some other people. It's a road trip."

"Oh, well, in that case, take a seat."

Tom went over to a couch, sat down and drank a can of Fanta. Soon enough, he could tell the rest of them had arrived.

"OK. It's time for News Night with Wi..." Will's heroic speech was cut short, as the door he'd swung open shut on his own. He simply opened the door, held it open and marched into the dealer, followed by the rest of the crew.

"About time." Tom got up from the couch and removed his sunglasses. "I'm Tom Fortnell."

Will shook his hand. "And I'm..."

"Will McAvoy." Tom finished. "You think I don't know who you are? 'Cause featuring on a nationally broadcast news program is a hell of a way to get noticed."

"Right." Will then introduced his crew, pointing to them. "This is MacKenzie, my executive producer. Jim, another producer. Maggie, associate producer. Don, yet another producer. Neal, the I.T. Guy. Sloan, financial reporter. And Charlie, ACN news division president."

"Honored to meet you guys." Tom shook each person's hand.

* * *

Soon after the introductions, Tom then set off to find bikes for the crew. He'd selected a 1200 Custom for Will, a no-nonsense cruiser. Jim liked the idea of riding a Harley, so Tom picked a Softail Deluxe, a good looking and powerful bike. Don liked the look of Tom's burly Fatboy Lo, so he was happy to ride an "ordinary" Fatboy. Tom had been told that Maggie wasn't really confident, so he'd saved the SuperLow for her, an easy to ride bike with smooth suspension, a cozy riding position and easy handling, as well as a lighter weight than some of the other bikes in the dealer. The lighter weight meant she wouldn't break her leg if she went down with the bike. Well, not as much.

Neal wanted something good looking and with plenty of power, so the Seventy-Two, with '70s attitude and a modern engine was what he was looking for. Charlie was another person with enthusiasm for the trip, which was not dampened when Tom showed him the bike, a chromed and powerful Super Glide Custom. Will though MacKenzie needed a bike with power and attitude, so Tom used that info to select a Fat Bob for her. Finally, Sloan received an Iron 883, a blacked-out cruiser she liked the look of, even though it was one of the few examples they had there.

* * *

After half an hour, the crew were assembled with the bikes. They had bought the Harleys with what was meant to be the show's budget for the week.

"Yeah." Will had said. "I had told them the budget was going to new lighting and camera equipment. And don't worry about Leona and her lot, I've taken care of that."

Tom and the rest of the crew were in their new leathers. Tom had his flip-face helmet on, but chose to go with the face open and sunglasses covering his eyes. It was a Harley he was riding after all. The News Night gang had bought their own leathers, and would be riding with open face helmets. A few were going with sunglasses, a couple with goggles and the rest would be going bare faced.

The journey to Nob Hill was short, but Maggie panicked and had a case of the wobbles, and went onto the sidewalk as she struggled to regain control of her bike.

"I got you." Tom swerved next to Maggie and held her hand. With assistance from Tom, she managed to regain control and was now riding her Sportster straight.

"Almost lost it there." Tom stated.

"Yeah." Maggie was looking at the rest of the crew who were still on the road. "I didn't know what was going..." She suddenly learned to look where she was riding the hard way as both hers and Tom's faces whacked a For Sale sign next to a house, and were sent backwards off their bikes in a Wild Hogs moment.

"Man down." Tom groaned on the ground.

Somehow, both bikes were undamaged, and the crew somehow managed to make it to Nob Hill without further incident. On top of the hill, the nine bikes lined up.

"So this is it." Tom spoke. "You sure you want to do this?"

"Are you freakin' kidding me? Oh yeah I want to do this! This is the open road baby!" Jim yelled. He revved his Softail Deluxe, sending out shockwaves of V-Twin thunder that impacted the other riders.

"That sounded awesome." Neal remarked. "I think I'll give it a go."

"Be careful." Tom warned. "Make sure it's..." Unfortunately, Neal's Seventy-Two was in first gear, so when he twisted the throttle to rev the engine, the bike shot forward. Neal was caught off-guard and was sent tumbling as the Harley smashed into a newspaper stand. There was shock and concern from the audience.

"Yeah. You gotta make sure it's in neutral before you try revving it."

"Oh boy." Will remarked as Neal stumbled from the wreck.

"You obviously weren't thinking right when you suggested this." MacKenzie stated.

"You think he'll make it to New York?" Will asked while Neal was still stumbling around like a 2 a.m. drunk.

"You think we'll make it?" Will could not form an answer to MacKenzie's question.

* * *

I thought adding the credits at the beginning would make this more like an actual production. As I am a newcomer to The Newsroom, I may or may not continue this story. Don't forget to leave a review, and please bear in mind that original character requests are not open at this time and may not be open for the duration of this story.


	2. Playing With Fire

As I have not received a review, I am going to write this second chapter.

* * *

Half the day was wasted as the crew wheeled Neal's bike back to the dealer to be repaired. However, once the Seventy-Two was back in shape, the nine riders lined up at Nob Hill for the start of the trip.

"Three... Two... One... Go!" The Harleys got moving down the hill. Tom was first, with Will second, Jim third and Charlie fourth. Maggie followed them in fifth, Sloan was content in sixth, and Don and MacKenzie bringing up the rear in seventh and eighth. Neal had just finished carefully cruising back up to Nob Hill, only to see the rest of the crew leaving.

"Hey, wait for me!" And so Neal shot off down the hill, almost taking out the newspaper stand again. But he managed to catch up to the rest of them as they cruised down onto the coastal road.

"Wee! This is fun!" Maggie shouted as she rode along on her Sportster.

"Yeah, well just wait until you've gone 300 miles, then try saying that..." Charlie muttered, completely inaudible over the thundering V-Twin of his own Harley, let along the eight others in close proximity.

The convoy soon rode over the Golden Gate Bridge. They had left San Francisco, and started the first stage of the road trip.

* * *

Soon, they were headed towards their stop-off point for the night: Yosemite National Park. They had made it by nightfall, and had erected their big tent. Tom had opted to sleep in his own sleeping bag, as even the big tent could only just hold eight, and not nine. When they had finished building the tent, the News Night crew gathered around the campfire for the traditional marshmallows and stories.

"So I wonder why you're afraid of women?" Don asked Jim.

"So I'm afraid of women, huh?" Jim replied.

"Yeah. Admit it, you're head over heels for Maggie."

"Well, it's actually that someone..."

"I think he's afraid to talk to women." Charlie rushed in to defend Jim.

"Yeah." Sloan agreed, before adding, "And Will's afraid one particular woman is going to kill him in his sleep!"

MacKenzie simply rolled her eyes.

"Well, when you put it that way..." Will remarked. "I've had my fair share of drinks hurled in my face too." Will then pulled up his marshmallow-on-a-stick, only to find it badly toasted and still alight. "Oh. Anyone want this one? No?" He tossed the stick over his shoulder. "Never mind."

"OK if I tell everyone something?" Neal piped up, and got everyone's attention. "Bigfoot is..."

"Yeah, yeah, we know." Will interrupted. "How about we just get the sleeping bags from the..." He turned around to find his marshmallow-on-a-stick had sparked a small fire in the tent. "Tent!"

Everyone got up and rushed around, generally looking like flailing idiots as they tried to make themselves useful and generally failed. Maggie rushed over with a can filled with fluid of some kind.

"No! Wait!" Jim yelled frantically. "That's..." Maggie hurled the liquid onto the tent, which simply set the entire thing on fire with the ferocity of a vehicle blaze.

"Oh, I think that was gasoline..." Maggie sheepishly stated.

"You think?" Don answered as they simply watched the tent burn, with Will, who had fetched a bucket of water from the river, feebly try to put out the fire.

* * *

The News Night crew were still asleep come next morning, with Will, Maggie, Jim, Charlie and Sloan on the mattress, and MacKenzie, Don and Neal on the floor. Tom simply stood there as they continued to sleep, somehow, at 8 o'clock.

"I thought I could smell something burning last night. Never thought it would be the tent though." Tom muttered. "Ah hell, I might as well get some drinking water from the river and filter it for the trip." And so, he left the sleeping News Night crew.

Will was the first to wake up, groaning as he did so. His groaning woke up the rest of the crew on the mattress, and in turn, their groaning woke up the ones on the floor.

"Hell of a night last night." Charlie remarked.

"Yeah." Will replied, turning his head to gaze at the burnt-out shell of the tent.

"Oh man, this mattress is hard." Jim complained.

"So how do you think I feel?" MacKenzie said. "How come I'm the one on the floor, when I'm your executive producer, and I've got a sore spot on my bum, from 100 miles of riding, and..." When she said "100 miles", her head turned towards the parked bikes for a split second, and then returned to face the others. However, in that split second, something caught her eye, and she stopped speaking to look at the object. The others also took in the sight that stood before them.

A police officer stood there, arms crossed and looking tough as he observed the groggy News Night crew.

"Um... Hi..." Maggie said as she stood up.

"What seems to be the problem officer?" Will spoke as he stood to attention.

"Well, it's indecent exposure..." The officer looked at the crew. "Excessive pollution." He looked at the burnt out tent. "And pure jealousy." He pointed to himself.

"What?" Jim asked.

"How you doing?" The officer extended his arm. "I saw some good looking bikes over there, and when I come over to investigate, I see THE Will McAvoy right here. I am such a big fan of News Night, let me tell ya."

"So that means you're letting us go?"

"Of course." The officer nodded. "Take care." The crew observed him leave, inspected the Harleys as he went. Only then did Maggie realize...

"I don't think I'm wearing pants..."

* * *

Come 9 o'clock, the crew were fully assembled and ready to go.

"So that's one burnt out tent, one angry Mac and one encounter with a patrolman with maybe a couple of screws loose." Will commented. "Some trip."

"Yeah, well, we've still got 2,900 to go." Tom mounted his Fatboy Lo. "So let's..." He was interrupted by a rumbling sound that sounded like it was heading their way.

"What the...?" Sloan wondered.

When the gang made their way to the road, they were in for a sight. A motorcycle gang was passing by with about a hundred bikes. There were bikes of all shapes and sizes. There were bikes made by Harley-Davidson, Orange County Choppers, West Coast Choppers and other bike makers. There were even a couple of trikes.

"Man!" Jim exclaimed. "I can smell them from here!" He then turned around and started coughing. "Oh man!"

* * *

Heading out of the National Park, the crew started to make their way towards Las Vegas.

"OK guys." Tom shouted as they made their way towards Death Valley. "We're heading to Las Vegas, we want to get there by Tuesday. And no casinos."

One thing the crew noticed was the scenery. Where Yosemite National Park had forests and waterfalls, Death Valley was just miles of desert. It was hot too: More than once a rider had to wipe the sweat off their brow. As they crossed into Nevada, they pulled over for a quick rest.

"Uh oh." MacKenzie said as she checked her Blackberry. "Weather says there's a big sandstorm coming this way."

"OK." Tom replied. "I'll pull over for gas and take refuge in the station."

"I'm with you on that one." Charlie agreed. "I may be a marine who can beat you no matter how many protein bars you eat, but I wouldn't want to ride through a sandstorm."

"Fine." Will walked back to his 1200 Custom and mounted it.

"What? You're actually going to ride through that sandstorm?" Charlie asked incredulously.

"Is there anything wrong with that?" Will asked.

"Fine. Go if you want." Tom then said, "But I'm not cleaning you off afterwards."

* * *

Of course, once the sandstorm had passed, Tom and Charlie rode on, and it didn't take them long to find the rest of the crew taking refuge in an abandoned motel.

"What did I tell you?" Tom told a very sandy Will, who simply spat some sand out of his mouth in response.

It took a while, but somehow the crew managed to get cleaned up (It was very hard when Jim was looking like the bloody Sandman though!). Soon, they were on the road again, and they were having so much fun, they went ahead of Tom, who was content to just hang back a little.

Eventually, the News Night crew stopped at a gas station. However, before they could fill up, Jim arrived.

"What are you guys doing?" He asked.

"Why, we're filling up for gas." Maggie replied. "I would've thought it would be pretty obvious."

"Oh, come on!" Jim laughed and rested his head on the gas tank, before coming back up to look at the crew. "I know I love the freedom of the open road, but this isn't freedom! This is a gas station!"

"What are you suggesting?" MacKenzie asked while crossing her arms.

"That we just keep on riding!" Jim revved his Harley for punctuation.

"But hey!" Maggie interrupted. "We need gas!"

"Yeah. And I need an espresso." Will added.

"Then we'll get gas at the next station! Let's go!" Jim peeled out onto the empty road again.

"Is he out of his mind?" Sloan asked as she reached for the fuel handle.

"No, he's moving!" Charlie stated as he watched Jim speed off down the road like a slug from a .45, whooping and pushing his Harley to the limit. The crew, in their rush to catch up with their fleeing producer, left the gas behind, and as Tom pulled into the gas station, he could see the crew starting their pursuit. He also noticed the U-Haul truck, which was now moving, had concealed a sign stating that this station offered the best gas for 50 miles. As well as the last gas for 50 miles.

"Ah crap!" Was all Tom said as he revved up to warn the others of their mistake.

* * *

"Some stunt you pulled back there Jim!" Maggie yelled as the crew pushed their bikes along the deserted highway. Charlie, however, was still riding along with the crew, as he had gassed up when he'd had the chance (when he and Tom had sheltered from the sandstorm at the gas station).

"Yeah!" Don agreed. "What was that all about?"

"Uh, I was thinking on my feet?" Jim tried to salvage his non-existent defense.

"You were thinking with your arse!" MacKenzie shouted. Jim didn't reply.

"Looks like Jim just got served..." Maggie muttered.

"Seriously though, how come there wasn't a sign stating where the next gas was gonna be?" Will complained. "And where's some drinking water when you need it?"

"Now, come to think of it, I think I need a drink." MacKenzie then coughed, as if to emphasize her thirstiness.

"I knew I should've gone for the espresso when I had the chance." Will cursed. "Remind me to modify my contract so I can fire Jim at the end of each week."

"Like you could fire me at the end of each week?" MacKenzie shot back.

"Whoa! Take it easy!" Charlie interrupted. "I'm pretty sure Tom'll be here soon."

"He'd better be here!" MacKenzie opened her mouth to speak again, but Will shushed her.

"What's that sound?" Will then motioned to the horizon. Charlie shut off his engine to help everyone hear. It was faint, but the crew could still recognize it as a Harley-Davidson V-Twin, and it was coming closer. Soon, Tom's familiar Fatboy Lo appeared on the horizon, and Don, Neal and Maggie cheered loudly as their salvation pulled up next to them.

"Run out of gas?" Tom asked. The crew simply nodded. "Ah, I did notice the Last Gas For 50 Miles sign back there at the station. I heard you sppeding off, so maybe if you hadn't sped off so quickly, you might have noticed. I wonder why you guys peeled out like the freakin' boogeyman was chasing anyway?" MacKenzie gave Jim a death glare.

"Hold on!" Neal called. "I think I see something! On the horizon!" The crew stopped pushing their bikes, as Tom retrieved a pair of binoculars from his travel bag.

"You're right! There is something!" Tom looked through the binoculars, studying the horizon as if he expected a Taliban sniper to pop up at any moment. The object immediately stood out against the plain desert backdrop. "It looks like a building. About two miles away. Motorcycles parked out front. Looks like a biker bar."

"You hear that?" Will called. "Gas and beer!"

"Come on then!" MacKenzie urged. "Push! Push!"

* * *

It took a monumental effort, but the crew managed to push their bikes the last couple of miles to the biker bar, where they stepped inside to an unusually warm welcome. Upon recognizing Will McAvoy from News Night, the bikers got them a seat, and provided enough cold drinks to quench almost everyone's thirst. Tom simply extracted a Fanta from his bag and drank away.

"I'm going out to refuel the bikes." Neal offered. "Anyone want to come with me?"

"No thanks." Will replied in between gulps of arctic cold beer. "Try asking us in about 2,500 miles time."

"I'll come with you, just to make sure you don't screw things up." Tom got up and walked outside to join the IT guy.

Within ten minutes, Neal had managed to, from one slightly rusty oil drum, fill each of the bikes up to full, enough to get them to Las Vegas. As Tom walked back to tell the rest of them it was OK to go, he stopped. He got on one knee and studied the ground. Right away, he knew what it was.

"Whoa, hold on." Tom stood back up and pointed to the spill. "Gasoline spill. That rusty drum's been weeing all the way from the pumps to the bikes. We might want to get that checked and cleaned."

"Oh come on, we can let them deal with it." Tom really doubted they'd make it to NYC if they had that attitude.

"OK, but I wonder if you've seen a movie called Wild Hogs..."

* * *

After another ten minutes, the crew was departing, and Tom stayed behind to warn the bikers of the gas spill.

"OK, just to let you know there's quite a big trail of gasoline here." Tom looked past the leader of the gang to one of the members, who had a cigarette in his mouth. That concerned him. "Say, you don't suppose it'd matter if this bar was, I dunno, blown up?"

"Why'd you ask?"

"Wait, blown up?" The member frantically asked. Unfortunately, the lit cigarette dropped from his mouth, and landed on the spill.

Tom noticed this, and said, "'Cause I think that's what's about to happen. FIRE!" He yelled. The bikers noticed the fire heading towards the gas pumps, and with a lot of yelling and rushing, either jumped on bikes to escape the inevitable chaos, or jumped for cover of some kind. In seconds, the fire had reached the pumps, igniting the fuel within, and setting off an explosion that reached the bar. The bar went up with an even bigger boom, and flames and flying wood was everywhere, as the explosion obliterated the building. The explosion could be seen for about a mile in any direction.

Hearing a boom that sounded like a firework, Neal Sampat looked around, before gazing in the bike's mirror and witnessing the explosion. "Oh no..." He muttered, concerned.

* * *

Please leave a review, because it tells me what I need to improve on, and whether I should continue this story. I'm out until next time!


	3. The 112th Mishap

I would like to thank Cat1030 for reviewing. That's what motivates me to continue. So here we go for the third chapter.

* * *

Will McAvoy was not one to shy away from speaking the truth. He was not one to throw up his hands in surrender. But when there were about a dozen or so police officers in front of you pointing 9mm handguns at your face, it was hard not to comply. So how did he get to this?

* * *

"Now tell me why you're there." Will and a few of his team were currently trying to talk Neal out from under a Wild West era wagon. "And don't even think about saying it's to get some shade, because there's a fully air-conditioned bar over there."

"It's... It's..." Neal stuttered.

"Come on."

"I... Uh... Well..."

"Just tell me already!"

"WILL!" A sharp voice made Will jump and turn around. MacKenzie glared at him and added, "Just give the bloke a chance to bloody speak!"

"I blew up their bar!" Neal finally yelled.

"You what?" MacKenzie shouted.

"While I was fuelling the bikes, I spilt some fuel on the ground."

"Some?"

"Oh alright, a lot. Tom stayed behind to warn them. I don't think he made it out."

"Oh damn." Will wiped his forehead.

"You know what?" Charlie asked as he walked over. "You not only blew up a BIKER'S BAR, you blew up our tour guide as well!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Hands up whoever wants to kill Neal." Charlie asked, to which everyone raised their hands. Even Jim. "And Jim." Charlie quickly added. Jim just lowered his hand. He was sure he'd be dead in an hour. Mind you, those bikers would probably kill the rest of them when they arrived.

"What's that?" Maggie asked. Indeed, when everyone shut up they could hear the distinctive thumping of a Harley-Davidson bearing down on them, joined by a dozen others.

"I'm pretty sure that's a biker gang." Don commented.

A bit of sweat dropped from Charlie's face. "Oh we are f..."

"RUN!" Jim yelled and dashed towards the wagon. This sent the News Night crew into a frenzy. They started scrambling for cover.

Don picked something up and stood defiantly. "I will protect you guys!" He yelled. However, the triumphant look on his face faded as he checked what he had picked up. It was a handful of tiny pebbles and sand. "Screw it." He declared, before hurling away his useless weaponry and joining the crew in hiding behind the wagon.

"So what's the plan of action?" Maggie whispered while they were somehow all under the wagon.

"When they come, we kick out Jim and Neal." Charlie replied.

"Great plan." Jim quipped.

"Well, you did make us continue on without fuelling up." Charlie responded.

"And what about me?" Neal asked.

"You spilt the fuel that blew up the bar." MacKenzie stated.

"So you throw us to the dogs to save yourself?" Jim asked.

"Pretty much, yeah." Sloan confirmed.

"Well, for your information, I don't think Mac could go for a few weeks without me." Jim tried to talk his way out of the situation.

"And if I'm gone," Neal spoke, "who's going to write Will's blog? Who's going to handle the IT stuff? Who's going to make sure people send e-mails with private content to one person instead of the entire building?" This struck a chord with MacKenzie, as she still remembered "that" incident.

"You've got a point... Will?" During the talking, Will had crawled out into the open, stood up and had walked out next to the road.

"Oh, he's gonna die." Maggie quipped.

"So much for sending out Jim and Neal to die first." Charlie remarked.

"What? You son of a..." Jim shouted quietly.

"Guys! Can we please stop arguing!" MacKenzie's voice silenced the group. "If the biker gang notices us, they'll finish us all off!"

"OK." Jim settled back down. "But I'm still willing to bet 15 that Will dies first."

Will simply walked back to the wagon and motioned for them to come out.

"Umm... What?" Sloan asked.

One of the bikes pulled up next to them. It was a black Fatboy Lo. Tom's black Fatboy Lo.

"Tom? You're alive!" Neal shouted and hugged Tom, almost knocking him off the bike.

"Yeah, it's me." The other bikes turned out to be tourists just riding past.

"But we have to move." Jim stated.

"Why? Paparazzi in pursuit?" Tom asked.

"No. Neal blew up the bar and if they find us, we're all dead."

"Oh come on, are you kidding me?"

"Oh no I'm not." Jim mounted his bike.

"You guys are so scared, it's almost funny."

"Well, we're crapping ourselves for a good reason." Will said while putting on his helmet.

All around Tom, the News Night crew were preparing to go on the run. Maggie and Sloan had already fired up their bikes. It was now time for him to drop the bombshell.

"That bar was an insurance scam!" Tom yelled. All activity seemed to stop. The crew stopped their scrambling, the running bikes were shut off and the crew turned to stare at Tom.

"Say what?" Charlie asked incredulously.

"They told me they built that dump and insured it for twice what it was worth! You did them a favor! Now come on, I want to get to Las Vegas."

"Whew!" Jim was relieved. "That was lucky! Glad we got out of that one!"

"Indeed." MacKenzie's face then turned serious. "But I'm afraid I'm still going to have to kill you for making us run out of fuel in the middle of the desert."

Jim gulped.

* * *

Approaching Las Vegas, the crew stopped off at a gas station just off Interstate 15. It was a chance for them to top up on fuel and drinks, and also a chance to rest their backsides after more than 350 miles of riding.

"Now this is good stuff." Maggie declared after gulping down some orange Fanta.

"You got that right." Tom replied. "My favorite drink." He then turned to the other guys. "Hey, just wondering how you're getting on with refuelling."

"Nearly finished!" Charlie yelled. "And no gasoline spills!"

"Good one! Try not to blow this one up!"

Charlie pointed to Neal. "No guarantees!"

* * *

Back on the road, the tall buildings of Fabulous Las Vegas dominated the view ahead. No doubt, among those buildings were famous casinos such as the MGM Grand and Caesar's Palace. However, Tom simply wanted to head into a hotel to rest, no more burning the tent down and absolutely no casinos.

When they booked into a hotel, Tom told them to go out and enjoy the city, as long as they didn't gamble away everything they had. Jim and Maggie went for a movie, Sloan went to a casino (for "financial research"), Charlie and Don went for a tour of the local news stations, Neal decided to check out the Pawn Stars store as seen on History, and MacKenzie and Will just cruised around on their Harleys. However, after an argument, they split up.

"So why don't I just fire her when I get back?" Will wondered to himself as he cruised around, the big 1200 Custom thundering away. "No I can't, she's my executive producer. And my ex-girlfriend. Well, she is my EX but... Ah, what the hell..."

As it was getting real dark, the lights of the city started to blind Will, so he put on the sunglasses and continued to ride around.

"Probably gonna head back to the hotel soon. Tom must be worried sick about me. I know he's out of his juristidction, but he could still use his powers as a cop to send out a search party for me. Besides, wouldn't want to worry Mac. Still, I should enjoy this trip..."

Will turned out of the alley and back onto the road, but stopped all of a sudden. A line of fully lit up Ford police cruisers blocked the road, along with some blue police barriers. A line of police officers approached Will, guns drawn.

"Off the motorcycle! Off the motorcycle!" One officer yelled as Will put his hands up.

"Freeze! Police!" Another one shouted.

"Stand down! Stand down!"

"Put your hands behind your head!"

"Do it! Do it now!"

Will dismounted the Harley, put his hands in the air and then behind his head and got down on the ground. He looked back to find another squad of officers forcing a group of people down on the ground. It was his News Night crew. Yep, Will's world had gone from zero to crap in about three minutes.

"Hey! Hey! I said get down!" A sergeant ordered before slamming Don on the hood of a Crown Vic.

"Whoa! What seems to be the trouble here?" Tom interrogated as he stepped towards the sight of handcuffed News Night staff being frisked.

"Las Vegas PD, we've detained these security threats." An officer replied as he frisked uncomfortably close to MacKenzie's chest.

"Security threats?"

"They're too close to Senator Bob Coffin, who's going to make a speech here."

"OK, first off, they are not security threats. Second, they're the crew of ACN News Night, so if anything, they should be covering this speech. Third, they didn't know Senator Coffin was going to make a speech. And fourth, you guys seriously need to tone down the security here. Stop being so paranoid huh?"

* * *

Later that night, the crew just went up to their seperate hotel rooms, the incident leaving them shaken. Tom just drank some Fanta and read a magazine, all the while convinced he could hear an argument between a certain news anchor and a certain executive producer. Maybe when he'd agreed to bring along the News Night crew, he'd bit off more than he could chew. He could only hope that they'd make it to the end without major injury or loss of life.

Tom had planned their next major city stop-off to be in Chicago, Illinois. The Windy City. However, to get there, they would have to travel far. They would have to navigate Red Mountain Pass. Then, they would have to brace themselves for freezing conditions in the Rockies, before blazing through Dakota and Wisconsin, and if they were somehow still alive, they would reach Chicago. Tom could only hope he wouldn't be the only one to make it.

* * *

So how are you guys liking it so far? Please don't forget to review. Also, hold tight, I may be starting work on a Newsroom forum for you guys!


	4. The Harder They Fall

I would like to announce that the Newsroom forum has now been set up! It's still a little barebones, but if you want somewhere to discuss or roleplay, go check it out.

Cat1030, thanks for reviewing again. It's good to know that you enjoy this story, and it's also good to know that you'd like a forum.

Guest, cheers for checking out this little story of mine! Thanks for giving me encouragement. I'll tell you that Chicago may have a few surprises in store...

Chapter 4 it is, then. Onwards!

* * *

Next day, the crew were on the road again. Now this may have been boring, but something happened that livened up their time on Hwy 169.

As Jim rode along, something splattered on his face, and he spluttered. Will rode up next to him.

"What's wrong?" He asked as Charlie rode alongside him. Jim simply turned to face him, and Will could see the rather large spot of bird excretement on his face. Will couldn't help but laugh at Jim's predicament, and Charlie joined in with the laughing, while Jim simply laughed at them sarcastically, probably adding a screw you under his breath.

Still laughing, Will and Charlie rode on like the kings of the road. Not for long though, as they rode straight through a formation of low-flying insects, completely splattering their faces with bug remains.

MacKenzie rode up next to Jim, and laughed at his bird crap splat. She then rode ahead to find Will and Charlie and their faces covered in bugs, to which she laughed even harder. However, karma had an even bigger punishment in store for Mac. As she rode ahead to the front, she was whacked in the face. By a blackbird. When she held the blackbird, it started screaming and wriggling, and Mac started screaming and wiggling.

"Whoa! Whoa!" MacKenzie yelled as she struggled with the bird. "Biker in trouble!" She. finally tossed it over her shoulder. The out-of-control blackbird then whacked Maggie on the side of her helmet, giving her a very bad case of instability.

"Man down." Was all Maggie Jordan could say before the wobbles became too much and she fell off her bike.

* * *

As the crew stopped to regain their bearings, Sloan inspected the scene of chaos.

"Well, uh, that was interesting..."

* * *

Once the crew had cleaned themselves up, they were back on the road and making up time on the dirt tracks. The Harleys were hardly off-road bikes, but the crew were muscling their way through the tracks.

"Whee!" Don whooped as he slid around a turn.

"Look out!" Charlie shouted. Don found out why Charlie had shouted that as he slid right onto the tarmac. The bike gripped suddenly, and hurled Don right off the seat.

* * *

The craziness didn't stop there. As the crew made their way up to Loghill on the Million Dollar Highway, Colorado, they came up to a couple of waterfalls, with ponds at the bottom. So while Tom stood guard at the entrance, the males took their clothes off for a bit of relaxing in the pond, and the females did the same (in the other pool, thankfully!).

"So, after 835 miles, how's the trip going so far?" Jim asked.

"I think it's going well." Will answered.

"And how about you Neal?" Jim turned to Neal, who simply stuck his head below the water.

"Still remembering that incident." Charlie remarked, as Neal re-appeared on the other side of the pond.

"Mind you, I haven't been completely scot-free." Will remembered. "I mean, it was me who set the tent on fire."

"And it was Maggie who hurled gasoline on the fire." Charlie raised his hands up in the air to give his next statement a bit more power.

"Oh, this is gonna be good..." Don muttered.

"What the holy HELL was she thinking?" Charlie yelled.

"Houston, we have a problem." Jim got the men's attention. Standing there was the traffic cop from Yosemite.

"What the..." Neal said.

"You realise you're out of your juristidction, right?" Will told the cop.

"Yeah, and I had to ride hundereds of miles, but it was worth it to see you and your bikes again." The cop smiled, before taking off his uniform. Don gulped. "What's wrong?" The cop asked as he studied the worried looks on the guy's faces. "Six a crowd?"

"Yeah, six..." Charlie explained. "Way too many. Besides, this is making us feel a _little _uncomfortable."

"Never mind then. I need to cool off, so I'll just jump in the other one!" The cop laughed.

"No, no, I don't think that's a good idea..." Will's warning fell on deaf ears, as the cop marched to the other side. A splash indicated that he'd jumped in without looking to see who was already in the other pool.

The men looked at each other, already knowing what was about to happen, and what was going to happen. It didn't take any encouragement at all for the guys to take a deep breath and yell out in their loudest voices:

"TOM!"

* * *

I know this chappy is a little short, but a little short is better than nothing, right? Next one is going to take place in the Rockies, so that should be interesting. Again, apologies for this one being short, but I thought that this would be a good place to leave off. I do have other things going on right now, so I hope you'll understand I've had to re-dedicate my life to some of those things (And NOT to ruining Nina's life!). Please leave feedback, and why not swing by the forum?


	5. Sliced And Iced

Chapter 5, and this could be my last one for a while. Motivation's dropping and I've got things going on with my life.

Cat1030: Here it is, the link for the forum: wwwdotfanfictiondotnet/forum/Atlantis-Cable-News/117146/

Dunno if that'll show up...

* * *

Some days, you think, Gosh, I'm glad I did that. Other days, you think, Hmm, that was OK but I think I could've done better. Right now, the crew of ACN News Night was thinking, What the bloody hell was Will McAvoy thinking?

Right now, they were in the Rockies. It was safe to say that the mountains got very snowy out of season. And right now, it was definitely snowy! Temperatures were plummeting, the snow was thickening, this was weather that would scare the pants off a jeep driver. But the sound of nine thumping Harley-Davidson V-Twins reverberated through the landscape, probably setting off a few avalanches along the way.

On Interstate 70, the foolhardy (and it seemed like eight of them were just plain fools) bunch powered along.

"Are you sure about this Tom?" Will shouted in between shivers in the near-freezing temperatures.

"Hell yeah." Tom replied. "Besides, part of the challenge is making it through. That's what makes this part of the journey fun."

"That..." MacKenzie drew alongside Will. "And it was your idea to go on this road trip in the first place."

"Part of the challenge, huh?" Don yelled. "I'd say this is pretty challenging!"

"Well I'd watch out!" Tom shouted. "It's about to get icy!"

"Oh really?" Charlie asked, before riding onto black ice and falling, collecting Maggie along the way. Jim stopped as both riders lay in a heap on the icy tarmac, and absolutely failed to get up as they slipped and slid.

"What is it with Maggie Jordan and falling off bikes, huh?" Jim rhetorically asked.

"You tell me." Maggie responded as she involuntarily took a belly flop and slammed back down on the ice.

* * *

Back on the bikes, Tom was riding along with his new helmet-mounted telephone, when he got a call. He tapped the side of the helmet to accept the call.

"Mhm. Yes. Tom Fortnell speaking. Yes. Oh-kay..." Tom then motioned for Will to come alongside.

"What is it?" Will asked as he cruised up next to Tom.

"There's a guy on the phone, says his name is Larny, Lunny... Lonny... I dunno. Anyway, he says he wants to speak to you. Sounds like he REALLY wants to talk."

Will seemed to hesitate before stuttering, "Um... Yeah... He's a... Fan! Yes, fan! Ah, just tell him I'm busy."

"OK." Tom then swivelled the mouthpiece back in front of his mouth and started speaking again. "I'm sorry, Mr. McAvoy is busy right now, I'm simply just some guy riding along with him. We're hoping to be back in New York by... Um... The end of the month. In the meantime, be sure to check out Will's unofficial fan club at wwwdotilovewillmcavoydotcom and also donate five dollars to the McAvoy Foundation for Child Abuse Victims. We hope you'll continue to be a dedicated fan, and... Hang-up tone?" The person on the other end had hung up, leaving Tom to wonder what the hell was going on. As Will rode onwards through the snow, Tom yelled after him, "Will, you sure that guy was a fan?"

* * *

Soon, the crew had hit an obstacle. A rather big one. They were parked at the start of a road running alongside Independence Pass. The crew were debating whether or not to continue down the road, which was very slippery, and also could've hurled an avalanche at them.

"I say we go for it." Will declared. "You only live once, and besides, we want to get to NYC quickly, right?"

"Well, I'm not sure." MacKenzie objected. "First, it's going to be slippery, second, I'm in no rush to get back to New York to be yelled at, and third, why should we listen to you after what's already happened?"

"Such as?"

"Well, setting the tent on fire, riding through a sandstorm, getting arrested by overzealous cops in Las Vegas, and you made me get a blackbird in the face!" And Mac wasn't even going to mention what happened in the pool. "And besides, all of this was your bloody idea!"

"Well, like it or not, I'm going." Will mounted his Harley, fired up, and rode off down the pass.

"Screw it, none of us are going to have a job if he doesn't come back." With that, Mac got on her bike and rode off after Will. Jim saw that Will and Mac weren't going to come back, so he decided to go after them too. Maggie followed suit, with Don accompanying her. Sloan and Neal also rode off, leaving Tom and Charlie there.

"Well, see you on the other side." Charlie said as he checked his helmet and started up his bike. Tom smiled and gave a thumbs up. As he watched Charlie go down the pass, he decided to check his Fatboy just to make sure. He inspected the engine to make sure it was OK, he checked the light, he made sure the tires...

Suddenly, there was a small alarm tht sounded, and the gate closed.

"What the hell?" Tom asked rhetorically. There was a sign next to the road covered in snow. Tom wiped the snow off and read the lettering.

DANGER!

AVALANCHE BLASTING WITH LONG RANGE WEAPONRY!

RISK OF DEATH!

"Ah snap! Well, there's nothing I can do now. They're on their own out there. Just pry someone's watching over them... I'll have some major questions to answer if this all goes wrong. ACN News Night crew dies in major avalanche on Independence Pass." Tom exhales. "Well this is a total disaster. Why did I have to do this? Well, if I'm going to continue with this trip, I'm going to see it through to completion. I can only hope the crew will survive to finish this with me..."


	6. Independence Pass: Buried Alive

Well, I'm back and ready to continue. It's time to face Independence Pass!

* * *

Down on the road, the crew were struggling with the icy road. It was a challenge to keep any vehicle on the straight and narrow with black ice, much less a Harley-Davidson. But they were doing alright.

"Look at that." Jim remarked. "All that snow, just ready to cause an avalanche."

"He's right." Charlie stated as he stared at the mountainside. "So no reckless revving."

Mac looked over at Will unsure, and Will looked at Mac. No words needed to be spoken. Their faces said it all. You sure about this? Yeah, sure. I think...

"Hey! Look! Over there!" Don's shouting brought the crew out of their trance. An object that looked like a missile streaked through the sky. Suddenly, it slammed into the mountainside. Suddenly, it hit them. Avalanche blasting.

"Ah crap!" Will yelled as he saw the first of the snow tumble towards them. "Run! Ride! Go!"

He didn't need to ask twice. The crew cranked their Harleys up to full throttle to avoid the avalanche. Sirens blared, warning people in the area that another missile was on its way. Everyone ducked as a load of snow and rocks came down upon them.

"Whoa!" Sloan shouted as she narrowly avoided getting whacked. Speeding up, the crew managed to make it to a tunnel.

"What a wrong turn Will!" Mac screamed.

Soon though, they were out of the tunnel and once more at the mercy of the avalanches and oblivious missile launcher crews.

"Oh man!" Don yelled, swerving to avoid a fallen tree. The crew then ducked to avoid whacking a tree that had fallen between two rocks, making for a high speed, high stakes game of limbo where failing meant a delay getting back on the bike and possible burial.

Speeds were getting pushed past 100mph as the crew continued to try and find a way out of this situation. Let me tell you, these guys definitely deserved a pay rise for what they were doing. If they survived, that was.

The sirens blared once again, warning the hapless News Night crew that another round of high explosives had taken flight. Explosions boomed on the rocks right next to the road, raining debris on the bikers.

"We HAVE to get out of here!" Neal shouted, scared.

"Way to state the obvious!" Sloan countered. Another missile streaked through the air to crash into the mountainside ahead of them, sending snow hurtling down the mountain.

"WHOA!" Maggie screamed as a massive boulder crashed down in front of them before falling off the mountain. That one was definitely big enough to kill them.

"HOLY F...!" Will almost let loose as another boulder landed right next to them. There was no margin for error, a few meters to the left and he would've been a pancake.

"INCOMING!" The crew were just in survival mode, blasting right through the small gap between two crashed boulders. Finally, they were in a tunnel again.

"Made it." MacKenzie sighed, relieved.

"And we're still alive, how about that?" Will shouted.

"Well, yes, but we are still going to have a long talk about this, William Duncan McAvoy!"

"Oh boy."

Charlie thought about the situation. "We're in the tunnel. We're out of danger for now."

"So are we just going to stay here and sit this avalanche out?" Maggie asked. Exactly on cue, creaking and booming noises were heard.

"Not a good idea." Don said just before all the lights went out.

"Whoa!" Will yelled in the complete darkness. "Just like the Anthony Weiner episode!"

"Again! What is it with the comic timing?" Mac wondered, until a bright light shone on her. "SON OF A...!"

"Sorry." Jim apologized. He had turned on his motorcycle's headlight.

"Good idea." Neal said before he shed some light on the situation, quickly followed by the rest of the crew. With eight lights shining, there was enough light to see. As they rounded a corner, there was natural daylight.

"Light at the end of the tunnel!" Maggie shouted.

"You sure it's not an oncoming train?" Jim replied.

"That's bad." Maggie said before the crew went through the light and were now back outside. "Oh crap."

"That's worse."

"OK everybody, stay alert, stay alive!" Charlie advised as the snowy trail extended in front of them. The now-familiar siren cranked up once more to let them know high explosive death was inbound and hot. Fallen boulders on the road made things more interesting, and it was a hell of a task just staying alive. Adrenaline was pumping, the explosions were banging and booming, and no-one even thought about what would happen if Leona Lansing were here in this situation.

"Ah snap!" Will shouted as snow fell on the road, followed by a couple of big boulders. The crew only just managed to avoid the new roadblock. Safe to say, no amount of gossip columnist intrusion would ever compare to the sheer terror of riding through an avalanche.

"Watch it!" Don warned as more boulders fell. Both sides of the mountain were now rocky, forming a little valley, funnelling the crew in one direction. If they stopped, they were likely dead. The noise was now deafening, boulders falling at a rate of one every five seconds. The crew were just acting on instinct dodging the boulders of death, no thought was allowed to invade their heads in case it slowed them down. That could've meant a messy death.

Finally, they had outran the boulders. A tunnel was just a half a mile ahead of them, their only escape from this mountain pass of doom. However, there was no time to waste. An avalanche was falling down the mountainside, and if the crew didn't haul mass right frickin' now, their only escape route, and likely themselves would be buried alive.

"MOVE IT!" Will put everything he had into yelling that command. The Harleys were cranked up to 110mph as the crew desperately tried to outrun the avalanche. All hope seemed lost as the avalanche was close to hitting the ground, seemingly blocking their salvation. Don cried out, part war cry and part cry of terror. The crew pressed on, determined to go out fighting. As they ran into their certain doom, the snow hadn't hit the ground yet. Before anyone could yell for joy, they had managed to reach the tunnel just as the snow piled onto the ground, blocking the entrance behind them. They pulled over in the tunnel and stopped, panting and staring at the now blocked entrance, amazed at how they managed to survive the pass and avoid being buried alive. Mac and Will just stood in front of each other, and embraced the other in a massive hug. No words needed to be said.

They had made it.

* * *

Again, sorry for the wait. I'm pretty sure I still want to see this through to completion though. There's nothing that gets your pulse punding like outrunning an avalanche, right?


End file.
